Denton Community
Historical Society

Prairie
Flower
School

DISTRICT
#71
or
#130
PRAIRIE
FLOWER
SCHOOL

According
to
newspaper
accounts
from
write-ups
at
the
time
of
the
celebration
of
the
1888
blizzard
in
1940
District
#71
was
located
1
miles
west
of
later
where
the
school
was
located.
This
probably
would
have
been
on
what
is
now
SW
84th.
The
school
district
was
organized
in
1874,
the
grasshopper
years.
I
found
no
listing
of
when
the
building
was
moved
or
a
new
one
built.
The
new
location
was
on
what
now
is
SW
72nd
between
West
Bennet
and
West
Wittstruck
roads
in
Lancaster
County,
Nebraska.
It
was
on
the
west
side
of
the
road.
In
1888
it
is
shown
Sullivan's,
Miller's,
Meier's,
Strelow's,
Spellman's,
Schwenke's,
Clouse's,
Lowney's
and
others
attended
this
school.

Sometimes
50
to
100
children
were
enrolled.
An
account
from
the
Lincoln
Star
newspaper
told:
"Many
entertainments
were
held
in
this
schoolhouse,
besides
Sunday
School,
grange
meetings
and
the
celebration
of
the
Fourth
of
July
with
a
picnic.
There
were
school
meetings,
the
entertainments
and
the
spelling
schools."
One
of
the
most
vivid
recollection
was
the
blizzard
of
1888
when
the
children
were
faced
with
a
blizzard
raging
as
school
was
dismissed
in
the
afternoon.
Twenty
four
were
in
attendance
that
day.
Most
stayed
at
the
school
but
the
girls
(the
clipping
said
just
2
girls
attended
that
day)
went
to
a
nearby
farmhouse,
a
short
distance
from
the
school.

Five
walked
home,
a
mile
and
a
half
distance.
The
news
clipping
said
John
F.
Sullivan
suffer
badly
frozen
feet.
Fifty
two
years
later,
1940,
the
survivors
had
a
reunion
at
the
school
to
recall
the
blizzard.
There
were
11
survivors
attending.
The
program
we
broadcasted
on
KFAB
and
the
Mutual
Broadcasting
System.
John
Sieck
was
listed
as
director
in
1889
and
the
school
was
listed
as
being
District
#130.
I
was
told
the
school
became
to
large
so
a
new
one
was
built
a
few
miles
southwest
of
#130.

The
new
building
kept
the
old
number
#71.
J.
T.
Sullivan
became
director
in
1900.
School
board
members
in
later
years
were
Henry
Beck,
Clarence
Livingstone,
and
Henry
Sieck.
They
held
these
positions
many
years.
I
believe
the
last
board
members
were
Vera
Sittler,
Marie
Sieck
and
Vera
Douglass.
The
school
was
closed
in
1960,
having
only
four
pupils.
The
building
was
sold
and
moved
into
Crete.